Canonical Classics ← 第七十四回
第七十四回
長cháng庚gēng傳chuán報bào魔mó頭tóu狠hěn
行xíng者zhě施shī為wéi變biàn化huà能néng

Long Geng Brings Word of a Fierce Demon Chief · Pilgrim Works His Powers of Transformation

膿包行了
模式 Mode Read Study
拼音 Pinyin Off
字體 Script 繁
原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

膿包行了 Do Not Cry Master

行xíng者zhě道dào:「莫mò哭kū,莫mò哭kū,一yì哭kū便biàn膿nóng包bāo行xíng了le。他tā這zhè報bào信xìn,必bì有yǒu幾jǐ分fēn虛xū話huà,只zhǐ是shì要yào我wǒ們men著zhuó意yì留liú心xīn,誠chéng所suǒ謂wèi:『以yǐ告gào者zhě,過guò也yě。』你nǐ且qiě下xià馬mǎ來lái坐zuò著zhe。」行xíng者zhě道dào:「莫mò哭kū,莫mò哭kū,一yì哭kū便biàn脓nóng包bāo行xíng了le。他tā这zhè报bào信xìn,必bì有yǒu几jǐ分fēn虚xū话huà,只zhǐ是shì要yào我wǒ们men着zhuó意yì留liú心xīn,诚chéng所suǒ谓wèi:『以yǐ告gào者zhě,过guò也yě。』你nǐ且qiě下xià马mǎ来lái坐zuò着zhe。」


逐句解 Line by line

行xíng者zhě道dào:「莫mò哭kū,莫mò哭kū,一yì哭kū便biàn膿nóng包bāo行xíng了le。 行xíng者zhě道dào:「莫mò哭kū,莫mò哭kū,一yì哭kū便biàn脓nóng包bāo行xíng了le。

Pilgrim said, "Do not cry, do not cry. One cry and you are a wash-out.

膿包 is literally a boil full of pus, and as an insult it means a weakling, a wash-out, somebody who bursts at a touch. It is still current and still rude. Pilgrim's bedside manner has not improved since he picked his master out of the grass.

他tā這zhè報bào信xìn,必bì有yǒu幾jǐ分fēn虛xū話huà,只zhǐ是shì要yào我wǒ們men著zhuó意yì留liú心xīn,誠chéng所suǒ謂wèi:『以yǐ告gào者zhě,過guò也yě。』你nǐ且qiě下xià馬mǎ來lái坐zuò著zhe。」 他tā这zhè报bào信xìn,必bì有yǒu几jǐ分fēn虚xū话huà,只zhǐ是shì要yào我wǒ们men着zhuó意yì留liú心xīn,诚chéng所suǒ谓wèi:『以yǐ告gào者zhě,过guò也yě。』你nǐ且qiě下xià马mǎ来lái坐zuò着zhe。」

There is bound to be some falsehood in this report of his — it is only meant to make us fix our minds and take care, as the saying has it: the one who tells you is the one at fault. Get down off the horse and sit a while."

著意留心 has 著 as zhuó — to fasten the attention, the same phrase the chapter's opening poem used. 坐著 four characters later has the same character as zhe, the durative. And 以告者,過也 is a classical tag set off in its own quotation marks: the fault lies with the one who reports it. Pilgrim is quoting a book at a man who is crying.


總評 Commentary

Pilgrim's comfort consists of calling his master a burst boil, telling him the warning was probably exaggerated, and quoting a classical tag. It is not what anybody would want and it is entirely sincere.

The quotation is the strange part. Having just been told by Venus in person that the danger is real, he produces a saying about informants being at fault — which is not an argument so much as a way of changing the subject.

And then, having dismissed the whole thing, he tells everybody to get off the horse and sit down. The instruction gives the game away: he is about to do something, and he does not want his master on a horse when he does it.